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Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention: Q & A |
Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention: Questions and
Answers
Selected excerpts from:
"Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention: Questions
and Answers" by
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, National Cancer Institute
Updated July 28, 2004
Source:
http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/antioxidants
Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention: Questions and
Answers
(Selected Excerpts)
1. What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from
the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free
radicals. Free radical damage may lead to cancer.
Antioxidants interact with and stabilize free radicals
and may prevent some of the damage free radicals
otherwise might cause. Examples of antioxidants include
beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamins C, E, and A, and other
substances.
2. Can antioxidants prevent
cancer?
Considerable laboratory evidence from chemical, cell
culture, and animal studies indicates that antioxidants
may slow or possibly prevent the development of cancer.
However, information from recent clinical trials is less
clear. In recent years, large-scale, randomized clinical
trials reached inconsistent conclusions.
3. How might antioxidants
prevent cancer?
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals as the natural
by-product of normal cell processes. Free radicals are
molecules with incomplete electron shells which make
them more chemically reactive than those with complete
electron shells. Exposure to various environmental
factors, including tobacco smoke and radiation, can also
lead to free radical formation. In humans, the most
common form of free radicals is oxygen. When an oxygen
molecule (O2) becomes electrically charged or
"radicalized" it tries to steal electrons from other
molecules, causing damage to the DNA and other
molecules. Over time, such damage may become
irreversible and lead to disease including cancer.
Antioxidants are often described as "mopping up" free
radicals, meaning they neutralize the electrical charge
and prevent the free radical from taking electrons from
other molecules.
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